Chereads / Nextgen Kids: Legend of the Nine Newborn / Chapter 40 - Gourmet 20: Neo

Chapter 40 - Gourmet 20: Neo

Play "Final Fold" from Origami King!

Boss fight: Acacia

"Alright, Gourmerry!" Yuzu popped the Spirit Ball open. "You ready to get back at this creep?!"

"Gourmerry!" She nodded seriously- "MERRY!" but cried when Acacia cast Forks, which Augustus quickly punched away. Yuzu pulled Gourmerry back as Augustus confronted the hunter. He brought up his hardened hands to hold back the War Fork, but had to channel Haki to the waist when the Zilly Knife tried to stab him. "Uh, seriously, I could really use some—OOG!" Acacia socked him in the stomach.

"Merry! Gour!" Gourmerry gestured Yuzu to carry him closer. A stream of soft yellow chi linked Yuzu with Augustus.

"Agh…hey!" Augustus hardened his whole body, but a yellow sheen glinted off the black iron. "HYAH!" He swung the War Fork to bat Acacia away. The hunter recovered, growling as he flew to trade fists with the boy. Augustus's fists didn't rescind when meeting Acacia's, the younger hunter standing strong and fighting ceaselessly. Acacia willed his weapons to fly behind to stab his back, but Augustus swiftly ducked, grabbed, and threw them into their master. They barely punctured Acacia as he took to the air to cast a Fork Storm, but Augustus formed a Fork Shield in defense. Acacia shot down with a Knife Kick, but Augustus dodged and dealt a Knife cut to Acacia's neck.

"Yuzu's the Guardian, but Augustus is borrowing the power, too?" Karin questioned.

"A chef is only complete with a hunter partner." Zebra answered. Haruka was currently bandaging his arm. "Of course he would share part of the power!"

"Ha hah!" Acacia laughed jovially, his neck healing. "And I thought Toriko and Komatsu were the second-best Combo! 'Guess I better get serious." Acacia's body shone green as he molded poisons up from his stomach and spewed them at Augustus. Yuzu took the lead and had Gourmerry swallow the poisons, but Acacia coated his weapons with ooze and swung them at the Combo. As they dodged the weapons, Gourmerry slurped the poison off them.

"Hang on, I'm sensing something." Yuzu said. "The voice of… ingredients? Gourmerry, it's our turn now!" She drew a kitchen knife, which was glowing with a gold aura. Augustus questioned her motives as she dodged her way up to Acacia. She closed her eyes, and her aura flared up as she impaled him.

Yuzu wound up in a light-red dimension with a sea of bubbles, containing countless ingredients. Yuzu was on a river of poison, having to jump over giant beans. The river was flowing into a giant straw, and Yuzu had to jump away as it inched closer. Blarrgs emerged and tried to spit her off, but Yuzu kept evading and made her way to an island. It seemed Grinpatch was trapped in a bubble, and three solid strikes from her knife were able to cut him free.

Everyone would watch as Grinpatch's spirit flew from Acacia's body and into the heavens. "Hey, that's the poisonbender we fought!" Mason recognized. "He was eaten by the Boss!"

"So, that poison you were using belonged to that guy!" Augustus realized. "You ate your own crewmen?!"

"I was planning to eat the KND, but I had to improvise. So, I see you have the ability to cut into my Gourmet Memory. As expected of the Firstborn!" Acacia extended his fingers to claws, with additional fingers on his head. His swipes cut the air, sending numerous waves at the Combo. Augustus countered the swift attacks with Knife techniques, but the captain couldn't block them all and suffered cuts. Augustus decided to employ a new strategy and shaped his Haki like a cutting board. It was much more durable and he was able to stomp closer, though he could feel his chi weakening against the cuts. However, once he was close, Yuzu dodged around and cut Acacia once more.

In the Gourmet Memory, Yuzu had to run across a path and dodge either vertical, diagonal, or horizontal airwaves, with tight spaces between them. A giant hand was chasing Yuzu, so she was quick and cautious. Yuzu reached a bubble containing Zaragira, the hand alien, but as she was cutting his prison, claw-swipes shot up from the ground. Yuzu was still able to evade until the alien's spirit was free. "Huh?" Yuzu viewed in the distance and could make out a much larger bubble: one containing Acacia himself, along with a beautiful angel. "Is that…"

Yuzu was ejected from the space as she and August retreated. Acacia flew skyward and conjured Chopsticks, sending them down to his foes. Augustus conjured his own Chopsticks to clash with them like swords, but because he wasn't used to the art, Acacia overwhelmed him. He trapped Augustus in Chopsticks, completely binding him as the god swooped down for a powerful punch to his gut. The Haki coursed within Augustus to land 20 internal punches, but with Gourmerry's power-up, he was able to withstand the sensation. Augustus forced the Chopsticks off him, but ran as they tried to catch him again. Augustus threw his Gob-Spinner, which moved more fast and frantically.

Acacia countered the rapid orb with his fist, feeling the skin of his knuckles peeling. Augustus rushed up to the hunter for a flurry of huge Fork attacks. Acacia clashed with equal technique and speed, the air ringing like giant, metal forks clinging together… because that's a very common sound. In the end, both sets of pronged fingers interlocked. Yuzu used this stalemate to run behind and cut into Acacia's Gourmet Memory.

She was riding a giant wolf across a valley of beasts. Some giant crocodiles tried to chomp her from left and right, so she leaned in the opposite directions to make the wolf steer that way. Yuzu jumped or ducked under giant serpents, depending on their height, and reached a blue bubble. She immediately recognize Toriko inside and began to cut him free, but Yuzu was suddenly evicted from the space. Acacia spun and kicked both foes away, then attempted to chi-block Augustus, but he used Spoon techniques to block them. "Toriko's spirit is in there, too!"

"Toriko?!" Komatsu gasped.

Acacia leapt away and began to spit webs of gum. The gum trapped Augustus, but Gourmerry began to gobble it up. Acacia punched Yuzu away and tried to seize the Newborn, but Komatsu suddenly blocked him with his knife raised. "Give back Toriko now!"

"Look, Komatsu, you know he's not alive in there, right? After all, when you eat something and chew it into pieces, it's certainly not gonna come out alive."

"AAAAHH!" Komatsu ran to stab him, but Acacia smacked him away. Augustus was freed from the gum and threw his Gob-Spinner, the god catching it in his Battermaster Spoon. He flipped it back like a tennis ball, but Augustus caught it with a Haki Spoon, withstanding the speed of his own weapon and flipping it back in a curve. Acacia spat a gum web at the Gobstopper, and it became wrapped into a gummy ball as it plopped on the ground. But Yuzu seized the chance to stab Acacia from behind, mustering Chef's Haki.

Yuzu was on a giant DJ disc, rap music playing. Kariu was trapped in the center bubble, dancing to the beat. Yuzu had to dance within the fast-moving, colored spotlights, lest she be trapped in a gum web. With top-notch dance skills, she made it to the center and slashed Kariu's bubble. Everyone watched as Kariu's spirit exited Acacia's body. "Hu-!" Harry gasped, tears welling up inside. "Bro!"

"Thanks for the song, little man. It was the happiest I've felt in ages."

"I got it on CD! I'll play it for everyone to hear!"

"Nice! And Kaitora… diggin' the new look."

Kaitora sniffled, having been given an exotic paint-job by April. "I'll miss you, Kariu!"

The gum was dispelled as August reclaimed his Gobstopper. Acacia flapped his wings and flew across the island. Augustus, Yuzu, and Komatsu raced after him. Giant Forks pierced up from the ground, the trio dodging around. Knives were flung from the distance before sticking in a slanted fashion, having to run up and over them. A giant spoon came to catch them, threatening to fling them away, but August used the Gob-Spinner to rotate it, flinging them toward Acacia. They repeated this with the next two Spoons, but then multiple Chopsticks tried to catch them. When they enclosed, the trio could use them as platforms and jump to following ones.

They landed on the ground close to Acacia, dodging around the giant Mallets that smashed down, even as Acacia also used Straw to blow them backward. They withstood the force and arrived at the god. He and Augustus tore at each other with Bare Hands. Augustus suffered deadly cuts while Acacia's injuries merely healed. Regardless, August kept him busy long enough for Yuzu and Komatsu to get behind and stab him. Yuzu pulled the older chef into the Gourmet Memory.

They landed just outside Toriko's bubble, and Komatsu let out a gasp. "Toriko-san!"

The War Fork, Zilly Knife, and Battermaster tried to keep them at bay, but Yuzu worked to fight off the weapons with her own utensils. Komatsu dealt blows to Toriko's bubble, but the Battermaster flipped around to scoop him away. Yuzu leapt to cut the red spoon and save him, but she suffered a stab from the War Fork. She shoved it off and jumped before the Zilly could stab her, and Komatsu leapt to grab the circus weapon. Yuzu firmly held the fork as well, and both hauled and impaled the weapons into Toriko's prison. With a blue flash, the heroic spirit escaped from the bubble. (End song.)

The spirit emerged for all eyes to view him. Komatsu, at a loss for breath, gazed at his friend with welling emotions. "Toriko… it's really you…"

"Sorry, Komatsu… I guess I failed you as a partner! Heh!" He exclaimed jovially.

"No! I was the one who failed you! I should've known it wasn't you, but I was completely fooled! I should've known you'd never write a 'Gaston' parody!"

"Actually, I did. It was in my diary! Ha hah! I can't believe this guy actually published it. But I don't have much time, so I'll get to the point: Acacia is not what you think he is."

"Uh, YAH, we kinda GOT that already!" Augustus stated.

"No. While I was in there, I learned some things. A long time ago, Acacia tried to become a God Tier, but he failed. As a result, he transformed into a monster. He became a gigantic demon that suffered with eternal hunger. He desperately craved anything and tried to eat everything, but his weak mouth could barely swallow anything. Somehow, Acacia was restored to his original form… but the soul of the demon inside him remained. The demon's hunger and desire became intertwined with his own personality."

"Ha ha hah haaaaah…" Acacia was drawn into laughter. "I'm a monster. Is that what you're saying, Toriko? Well… you're absolutely RIGHT."

His flesh began to mold with bubbly warts, almost as if he would explode any second. The Marzipans wanted to vomit at his transformation, far less charming than his flawless gray skin. "Acacia… Froese… they were one in the same in the end… All they cared about was FOOD! They wanted it all… and I wanted it all! I want everything this universe can offer me… that Arceus defied me, for so long!"

Acacia began to grow to grow, his clothes disappearing as his wart-covered flesh developed an ape-like shape. He was a pinkish-red color, and almost resembled an enormous tongue with overgrown tastebuds. "I am neither Acacia… nor Froese… I am NEO. And I exist only to consume! Consume everything!" A crescent grin formed on his ovular, nightmarish face. "I thank all the meals of this universe!" A pair of soulless, haunting black eyes loomed over the island, the Giant dwarfing everyone like bugs. "Everything I devour becomes part of my being. It exists with me forever! And I will even show the gods… this delicious luxury!"

"There's NO luxury that can come from that!" Yuzu yelled in repulse.

"Then all this time…" Rawberry spoke, "Gourmerry wasn't the Gourmet Demon. The one the prophecy talked about… was this thing?!"

"STRAW!" Straws emerged from the demon's mouth like a thousand tongues, attaching to Cheren, Sheila, Zebra, and all the operatives. Some were able to chop themselves free, but had to quickly save the others. The island began rumbling intensely as Neo inhaled, drawing in all the debris and ripping the surface apart.

"Wait! Gourmerry!" Yuzu yelled over the vibrations. "Acacia was using the power of his Gourmet Memory to use the abilities of his eaten victims. Maybe you can unlock our Gourmet Memory!"

"Merry??"

"Yeah! At least a little bit! Awaken the memories we shared together, Gourmerry! All the meals we helped you find! Let's show him… the power of our Full Course!"

"Merry!" The Firstborn shut her eyes and swelled power into her brain. She strongly recalled all the marvelous tastes from this adventure and implanted that memory to her friends. "Gour…MERRY!" (Play "Final Boss Phase 3" from Origami King!)

Their vision darkened, and a ball of light swirled and danced in the darkness. The light of the Precursor Pair swum in the dark as if their fears and worries were being shuffled by hope and joy. This taste was followed by the extreme sweetness of the Emerald Spring, like being kissed by an angel. The Seasonal Salad cycled on their tongues, resulting in a mixture of sweet cold, wetness, spicy heat, flavored crunchiness, and cycling around again. A meteor shower of Cosmonuts rained in their mouths as their bodies became an observatory. The Aurora Bream embraced them like a warm blanket on a cold night, while the Purple Jaguar gave them the rush of a wild animal. The intensity of the Splatato Slamwich overwhelmed them to the point of total focus. When the Universe Frog exploded in their bowels, they felt the wishes of the very cosmos itself.

Yuzu was adorned in a golden chef's uniform, radiating with aura, with a red crest that bore the Marzipan skull, a knife and fork crossed over it. Augustus wore a robe of the same color, the same crest on his chest. The Combo linked hands and conjured, "FRYING PAN!"

They were situated on a giant, shining gold pan elevated at the Giant's chest. "Are you trying to fry yourselves for my sake? How gracious of you!"

"You're the only one getting fried!" Augustus declared. "We'll stop you, even if we have to eat everything on that disgusting body of yours!"

Final boss: NEO

Neo's tongue divided into straws, slithering multiple directions either above or underneath the pan. It would attempt to slurp them in, but Yuzu aimed Gourmerry to spit poisons up those pipes: these poisons originated from ATOM and were able to melt the straws. Yuzu focused her Haki and could see some of the warts on Neo's body glowing gold. "Captain, pick those lumps off!" As Yuzu indicated the correct ones, Augustus used Spoon against them, picking the lumps off in perfect fashion (though he still felt repulsed under these circumstances). Neo would use Forks to knock the Spoons away, so Yuzu sent chi cuts from her knife to intercept the Chi Forks. As the gold lumps landed on the pan, Gourmerry worked to eat them and prevent Neo from reclaiming.

The Giant tried to bang his Bare Hands against the pan, but Augustus conjured Mallets to block them. Neo dove his face down, mouth wide open, but Augustus enlarged the aura of his hands to restrain him. Neo's grotesque tongue loomed over them, and on that tongue was an orb that contained the Treasure Fish, ANOTHER. Yuzu reached her knife's aura to the fish.

She was inside a mystical space of darkness, where nothing existed but the bubble imprisoning Acacia and Froese. Yuzu rushed to them, but they suddenly zipped away, and they warped about so much that she couldn't keep track. Yuzu decided to stop and calm herself: she cast an aurora veil over herself, giving herself a more warming aura. She could make out the form of the light fish zooming around. "It's okay. I'm not going to eat you." Hearing her voice, ANOTHER slowed down, its innocent eyes gazing at the veiled chef. Yuzu opened her arms to the majestic fish. "This isn't the home you want. Be free."

…The fish swum away and allowed Yuzu to get close to Acacia's bubble. She dealt the first strikes to begin cracking it. She was quickly expelled from the space as ANOTHER's orb shattered. "What have you done?! ANOTHER was a gift! It was a gift to me!" Angry, Neo retreated and slashed Knives across the pan. They flew from multiple directions, the Combo dodging as necessary, but their very foothold split in pieces like a pizza. When Forks punctured up from beneath, they had to jump to other platforms. Augustus was tricked as the Forks appeared on the next platform, stabbing him as he fell off and grabbed the edge. Yuzu made her way over and pulled him up before a Knife could cut him.

Neo returned to the pan and would bang his fists to knock the severed pieces down, Augustus blocking with Mallet again. He also stabbed his hands with Forks, then Yuzu indicated which lumps to pick off with Spoon. They picked off several lumps from the chest, exposing the pizza that was CENTER. Yuzu stuck her knife into the heart and entered his Memory.

She was on a vast field of pizza, but since she didn't want to gorge herself, she grabbed a pizza knife and lay swift, extended cuts across the ground. She channeled the strength of the Splatato to make these cuts. The cuts would heal, but as Yuzu kept up at it, she noticed an area of glowing cracks. Yuzu continuously chopped through in that area, digging into the pizza until she found Acacia and Froese. Yuzu had to slice away every fragment of pizza that touched them, severing them from the CENTER. The orb would be shattered off Neo's chest. "But I love everything the cosmos has to offer! My appetite is endless! Why…"

Neo raised his left arm and sent waves of air that threatened to blow them off (though their pan had reattached itself). Augustus put his hands around his mouth and used his own Straw technique, slurping in the gusts. They threatened to make him pop, so he quickly blew them behind to get them closer to Neo. Once they surfed close, Augustus dealt Knife attacks at the arm to stop his gusts, then used Spoon to pick out lumps on the arm. This exposed the AIR fruit on the elbow, so Yuzu got to work!

Yuzu was on a giant, white, rounded mass that felt like solid wind under her weight. She held on as gusts of wind tried to take her down, but climbed around as she sensed for a weak spot. She felt an area where the wind within the fruit was highly concentrated. She cut that part open, causing a great blast of air to spew out. She held on as the fruit flailed around, but seemed to maintain its shape. Eventually, the wind stopped, so Yuzu crawled into the juicy interior of the fruit. She located Acacia's bubble and struck it, making the crack bigger.

"Do you know how hard I worked to create this Full Course?! How could you take them from me!" Neo rose higher and attempted to stomp on the Combo, so Augustus thrusted Forks up to his disgusting sole. Hair follicles extended from the right foot and tried to entrap them. Augustus used twin Knives to create Scissors, slicing the hairs. He used the Scissors with his left hand and Spoon with his right, picking off the glowing orbs so Gourmerry could eat. The ice cream, EARTH appeared on the demon's knee. Yuzu climbed up and cut into its Memory.

Yuzu was in a giant garden of half-budded flowers, with EARTH towering in the center. Yuzu grabbed two scoopers and picked out chunks of the pink and gold cream as fast as possible, but to avoid being overwhelmed by its sweet presence, she applied the Cosmonuts' powder onto the cream. She made sure each of the flowers got a fair scoop, causing them to bud like ice cream cones. Eventually, all of EARTH was scooped out, revealing the imprisoned Combo. They were both smiling with hope as Yuzu cut their prison even further.

"A chef's duty is to feed the starving! You would let me starve?!" Neo brought the left foot over, and it swelled disgustingly as it detached and began bouncing around the field. Augustus worked quick to chop it up, but the lumps were tasteless to Gourmerry this time. Another leg freshly grew as the process repeated. Augustus grabbed it in his hands and struggled to bind it in place. Yuzu climbed the severed leg, and from there made the jump to the broken gap on Neo's body, where NEWS' orb was seen.

Yuzu had to dodge as Meat Bombs landed by and tried to explode, only to refresh and try again. Yuzu could damage Acacia's bubble freely, but those cuts would merely heal, fresh and new. Yuzu began to feel a chill from the Meat Bombs: it seemed that coldness contributed to the meat's freshness. Yuzu conjured a bottle of purple sauce, heated by the cooked jaguar. She squirted it onto the bombs, weakening their resolve to explode. She then sprayed sauce on Acacia's barrier, causing that section to grow older and weaker.

The left leg grew feeble as well, but Yuzu told Augustus to let it be. Reduced to one leg, Neo sunk and propped his hands on the pan for support. "You understand, don't you, Augustus? You're eating me, just the same. Who cares that cannibalism is wrong? Everything deserves to be tasted!" Neo took a big whiff through his nose and tried to absorb every piece of their scent, thus removing their color to make them immobile. Gourmerry spat poison up at the nose to blot this attack. With his ears, Neo tried to absorb their sound and weaken the impact of their attacks, so Augustus conjured Chopsticks to stick into the ears. Neo loomed closer to absorb their souls through the eyes, but Augustus summoned the taste of the beautiful Sulfurina. Neo gazed at the beautiful spirit, while Yuzu climbed behind the head and located ATOM on the back of it.

Yuzu struggled to swim up ATOM's strong, mystical black river. She called upon Sulfurina's taste herself, the spirit allowing her to ride as she swum up the current. As they neared the colossal waterfall, a handsome spirit loomed over them. ATOM scoffed at Sulfurina, rejecting her love. The current grew stronger, but she was still determined. Sulfurina grabbed onto ATOM's leg and pulled herself up, reaching to him. "…" ATOM sighed and took her hand, gazing down at her loving eyes. Yuzu seized their moment to climb up their interlocked arms and reach ATOM's head. She landed more cuts to Acacia's prison.

"These meals were supposed to be my… ours… right?" Neo fearfully backed away an clutched his left arm in the right hand. His angel wings grew and stretched, trying to slam the Combo. Augustus hammered the right wing with Mallet. Meanwhile, Yuzu channeled the power of the Precursor Pair to her Soul Arrows. She shot a light one at the left wing, then fired a dark one at the left arm. A rope of light and dark linked and tried to pull them together. Yuzu floated their pan close to Neo, and Augustus sent Knives to force the right hand off. The PAIR's orb was visible on the left elbow.

"Hey, Yuzu, isn't it weird that the PAIR isn't on the-"

"DON'T even FINISH that sentence!" With that, Yuzu cut the PAIR and entered its Memory. She rode a bowl boat across a giant pool of soup, with nothing else to stop her from reaching the bubble. She dealt the first chop against the top of it, but Neo's hands tried to press it back together. "Stop! The PAIR belongs to me! It belongs to us!"

"That's wrong." Acacia stated. "We collected these foods to share with everyone."

"We wanted to eat everything! It was for us! We wanted to be together!"

"We never wanted to be together like this." Froese said.

Yuzu lay more cuts to the bubble, Neo struggling to keep it together. "Acacia… it's time for me to go."

"I'll meet you again, Froese."

Yuzu raised her knife for the final cut. "NOOOOooo…" The knife separated the two lovers. (Play "Cordialement" from Magi.)

The demon cried out in despair as Froese's soul left his being, his wings disappearing. Neo collapsed into a one-legged sit. The duo lowered their pan to the ground and dispelled it. All the islanders cautiously approached the Giant, sensing his power waning.

Froese's majestic, winged soul hovered before his unchanging, grinning visage, his dark eyes ever haunting. "Acacia… you've forgotten who you are. Your passion and curiosity turned into lust. We became greedy, reaching for powers we weren't ready for, all to seek even greater tastes. What did we do all this for, Acacia? What is it… that we wanted?"

"…" Neo looked over the many guests of the festival. Maria stood with Koa and Louise. Mocha was lain down in injury, with the Culture Club and Sector W7 standing with her. Megumi stood with Ururu and Sector JP. Weiss patched Melody's wounds with ice as Sitasphira made a cloud for her to rest. Daxter was bragging to Skaios and King over how he helped Jak. Deku and Ochaco were holding Eri's hands. Konayuki was hugging Terry after his battle. Zebra approached the hunters that escaped from the castle, helping free Coco and Sunny from their prisons.

"…My wish… was to feed the universe…"

Froese withdrew a beautiful kitchen knife with a lustrous pink shine, its handle made of pink stone. Froese rose Cinderella and pierced down Neo's body. All of his orbs glittered gold. The Giant exploded as his orbs lit up the night like miniature comets. Every one landed beside a festival goer. Cheren and Nebula carefully picked theirs up. "Um…are these safe?" Cheren asked.

Yuzu picked up hers and ate. "It's… ramen. It tastes just like ramen. Yeah… they are safe."

Maria and Koa beamed in curiosity and ate. Maria tasted Shroom Steak and Koa tasted barbecued fish. Kipo ate hers, smiling at the taste of tiger. Wolf shrugged and ate, enjoying the taste of scorpion with the poison filtered. The Culture Club relished in their meals, the Snow Friends smiled sweetly. The Phoenios ate their pieces calmly, savoring the taste. Zebra enjoyed his meal, but shrugged in an 'alright' fashion. Megumi shared a cute smile with Sōma. Suika made sure her tiny friends got a share. Even the tired Gourmet Corp. officers enjoyed a piece.

With all his meals expelled, Neo was reduced to a smaller (but still large) and shriveled form. His eyes were tiny and pale and his mouth compressed to an 'o'. Augustus and Yuzu looked as O-Tama approached the Giant. In her hands was a single dango with brown topping. "Acacia'n… I hath made this dango yesterday. I was going to offer to August'n… but thou canst hath it."

"…" The Giant reached his frail fingers and pinched the dango. He brought it up to his shrunken mouth… and slurped it in. "Th…This…" A small tear leaked from his eye. "This… is what I forgot."

A ray of light shone from Heaven. It bathed Neo gently and uplifted the demon. Froese ascended and joined him. All would gaze at the light until the two souls were gone.

Cheren released a sigh, sitting on the ground. It was no surprise that all the KND who fought in this battle would wanna lie down and take a nap. "So, how're we gonna move the island back to where it was?"

"Ay can probably do it with my airbending." Skaios said. "Just like I did… you know."

"Yeah, we know." Tani replied.

Gourmerry stopped channeling her power, and Augustus and Yuzu felt exhausted afterward. However, the Firstborn noticed something else left where Neo sat. She approached them curiously.

"So, how did they taste?" Zebra asked.

"Huh?" The duo looked to him confusedly.

"The Holy Ingredients. How did they taste?"

"Oh, yeah!" Komatsu gasped. "You would've had to eat those… didn't you?"

"We didn't eat them." Yuzu said. "They were special to Acacia… so, we only set them free."

"Someday, we're gonna find them the right way." Augustus opened his next lollipop (he was over his earlier issue). "And we're gonna eat them then."

"Not before I do, punk." Zebra smirked.

"Gourmerry?" Hearing the spirit's voice, they looked over. Gourmerry was observing a pile of colorful eggs with diverse textures. They were all cracked and withered.

"Eggs?" Yuzu spoke, approaching them. "Were these expelled by Neo, too?"

"Those eggs!" Rawberry gasped, limping her way over. "These are… the Defect Eggs! The ones that didn't survive the God Production. Did Acacia find their secret vault?"

"W-W-W-Wait a second!" Augustus exclaimed. "You tellin' me these are Firstborn Eggs?! Just how many of the little twerps were you gonna make?!"

"Arceus cried a lot of tears. We wanted to make use of all of them, but not every one made it."

"Judging by the designs on the eggs," Yuzu observed, "this one was gonna be the Firstborn of Cement… this one the Firstborn of Plastic… the Firstborn of Flags… the one of Pencils… Wow, no wonder these were defects."

"Well, we better sweep 'em up before some villain takes them." Augustus suggested. "Did Acacia actually eat all these?"

"Don't worry." Rawberry said. "Because these eggs were defect, they had no real power at all. Otherwise, Acacia would've exploded just like when he ate Gourmerry. I wouldn't be surprised if…" She reached to bite a piece off of one. "UCK! It's disgusting…"

Regardless, Gourmerry ate a piece. "…GOURMEEEEEEE!" With a rush of excitement, she began eating every single egg. "Gourmerry! Gourmerry! Gourmerry!"

"Huh? She really likes them…" Yuzu said.

Rawberry was agape as the Firstborn joyfully devoured the broken eggs. "Gourmerry… was your job to get rid of all these eggs? Filter them out like you can do poisons?"

"Mmmmmm…" The little Newborn felt stuffed to her tiny tummy. After that feast, she didn't want to eat another bite. She lay down and slept.

"A majestic taste that we'll never know." Augustus smiled. "Congratulations… Gourmerry."

And so, he wrote "Unborn" as Gourmerry's Main Dish.